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Billie East
A young black child whom Griffin hires to help clean out his parents’ house after they move to Mexico. As they work together, the boy asks if Griffin’s children hate black people, and Griffin assures him that kids have to be taught such hateful viewpoints and that he and his wife would never teach their children these things.
The Boy Who Helps Griffin Clean Quotes in Black Like Me
The Black Like Me quotes below are all either spoken by The Boy Who Helps Griffin Clean or refer to The Boy Who Helps Griffin Clean. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
August 17, 1960
Quotes
We had a long conversation during which he brought out the obvious fact that whites teach their children to call them “niggers.” He said this happened to him all the time and that he would not even go into white neighborhoods because it sickened him to be called that. He said revealing things:
“Your children don’t hate us, do they?”
“God, no,” I said. “Children have to be taught that kind of filth. We’d never permit ours to learn it.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
The most distressing repercussion of this lack of communication has been the rise in racism among Negroes, justified to some extent, but a grave symptom nevertheless. It only widens the gap that men of good will are trying desperately to bridge with understanding and compassion. It only strengthens the white racist’s cause. The Negro who turns now, in the moment of near-realization of his liberties, and bares his fangs at a man’s whiteness, makes the same tragic error the white racist has made.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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The Boy Who Helps Griffin Clean Quotes in Black Like Me
The Black Like Me quotes below are all either spoken by The Boy Who Helps Griffin Clean or refer to The Boy Who Helps Griffin Clean. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
August 17, 1960
Quotes
We had a long conversation during which he brought out the obvious fact that whites teach their children to call them “niggers.” He said this happened to him all the time and that he would not even go into white neighborhoods because it sickened him to be called that. He said revealing things:
“Your children don’t hate us, do they?”
“God, no,” I said. “Children have to be taught that kind of filth. We’d never permit ours to learn it.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
The most distressing repercussion of this lack of communication has been the rise in racism among Negroes, justified to some extent, but a grave symptom nevertheless. It only widens the gap that men of good will are trying desperately to bridge with understanding and compassion. It only strengthens the white racist’s cause. The Negro who turns now, in the moment of near-realization of his liberties, and bares his fangs at a man’s whiteness, makes the same tragic error the white racist has made.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
